Gift Basket Birthday Present {plus Theme Ideas for Boys and Girls}

Having two little girls of my own has reminded me of how much I enjoyed receiving little gift baskets and boxes as a child. I mean, who doesn't love getting like six presents in one? My girls had a party to attend for two sisters a few weekends ago, and I wanted to show you all how fun it can be to put together a Gift Basket for Little Girls.

As I showed you a few years back with our Teacher Survival Kit, creating a gift basket doesn't have to break the bank, and it doesn't have to be a scary thing that has you driving all over town to various shops and stores, hauling small whiny children in and out of your minivan. 

Since the party was for two sisters who are just two years apart, I wanted to get them gifts that would be similar enough to keep them from fighting (or maybe it's just my kids who do that). When I spotted two cute plastic bins in our craft stash, I knew I had a great starting point!

With the exception of the Crayola crayon-shaped lip balm (Target!), all of the other gifts came from our local Five Below store.

Confession: I've only ever been in this store once before, and it was several years ago when I was looking for something to wear for my 80s themed birthday party. They had so many fun little things...this is a great spot to shop for Christmas stocking stuffers!

There are tons of themes you could try for a gift basket (I'll add some to the end of this post), but the mom mentioned her girls were hoping to get some play make-up. Well, that's all I needed to hear! I had a blast looking for pretty, make-up/spa stuff for the birthday girls. 

Here are the items we included:

-Gift Basket (something the honoree can reuse)

-Stretchy headband

-Eyeshadow (for dress-up play)

-Nail polish

-Foam toe dividers

-Hair elastics

-Lip Balms
-Tissues

-Loofah

-Mirror

Yes, we color coded everything because it's just more fun that way (and easier for the recipients to keep track of things). The other basket, as you can see, is pink.

Other items to add:

-Bubble bath

-Comb

-Brush

-Pumice stone

-Issue of American Girl magazine or National Geographic for Kids

-Stickers

-Nail file

-Necklace or bracelet

-Fuzzy socks

-Eye sleep mask

This is the kind of gift the kids could really be involved with shopping for! And don't think that gift baskets are just for girls....

Here are a few more theme ideas for girls and boys:

-Cars
-Puzzles
-Legos
(sets, books, activity books, etc)
-Books
(bookmark, gift card to Barnes and Noble, personalized library bag)
-Arts and Crafts
(paper pads, construction paper, glitter, crayons, markers, colored pencils, play-doh, stickers, scissors, punches)
-Spy
(Add a disguise: fake mustache, glasses, etc. Magnifying glass, pretend phone, pretend camera, voice memo recorder, invisible ink, notebook, etc)
-Summer fun
(Use a beach pail as the basket and add bubbles, sidewalk chalk, water guns, etc.)
-Winter fun
(mittens, scarf, hat, hot cocoa, kid sized mugs, snowman kit, indoor game)
-Little Chef
(apron, cookie mixes, tiny spatula, sprinkles, cookie cutters, kids' cookbook)
-Dance
(ask mom or dad for leotard size--Target carries cute ones, head bands, leg warmers, dance bag to carry stuff in, music or iTunes download card if they have an iPod)
-Movie buff
(a couple of DVDs from the $5 section at Target, popcorn, popcorn bins, lemonade mix, cute cups for drinks, pretty napkins, comfy blanket to snuggle with)
-Sleepover
(eye mask, nail polish, small game or craft, slippers, movie, inexpensive "roll-up" blanket)

Hope that helps!


What's your favorite thing to include in a gift basket?

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